Preface

Eureka moments are rare. What is more, they do not usually arrive in a flash. Instead, they often germinate for a long time—possibly years—before they finally surface full-blown.

A Little History

Prior to 2004, I had spent my entire professional career creating and packaging content for some of the biggest and best-known TV broadcasters in the world. That was my day job. The rest of the time I was a technology geek and, by some definitions, an “early adopter.” Since the days of CompuServe, Prodigy, and eventually America Online (AOL), I was fascinated by the notion of convergence. In the back of my mind I knew that it was just a matter of time before almost all content would go digital and portable. I just did not know exactly how or when.

By 2004, it was evident that I wasn't the only person thinking this way. A great many of us were not only consuming vast amounts of content online, but producing and sharing much of it as well. I knew that we were moving toward an era when the demand for digital would explode, and as a seasoned TV producer, I had enough credibility to help lead the charge. My approach was quite simple: Leverage new technology and cutting-edge production techniques to make high-quality, low-cost digital content for brands and publishers.

In May 2004, I incorporated Savar Media LLC. Armed with a laptop, a used Sony PD150 Mini DVCAM video camera, and a copy of Final Cut software (a start-up cost of less than $5,000), I was in business. Those were the days ...

Get Content to Commerce: Engaging Consumers Across Paid, Owned and Earned Channels now with the O’Reilly learning platform.

O’Reilly members experience books, live events, courses curated by job role, and more from O’Reilly and nearly 200 top publishers.